A little while back I bought a Mk3 fiesta with 51,000 on the clock, N reg. Now it's a nice little thing, passed the MOT (In August) and I've taxed it till June. Right, I drove from Southampton to Brighton and she was fine, the engine did flood when I was down there but we managed to get it rolling again. I've now been driving for three months(ish) and I drive about 10 miles a day (to work and back). I have noticed the following things:

1. Sometimes I put it into reverse and it just makes a ticking noise, almost like the car isn't quite in gear.

2. Sometimes the car will just stall, no I'm not bringing the clutch up too quick or anything, it'll be only sometimes it will do it. The car also takes some time to accelerate, and is sometimes a bit smokey.

Now heres what I think:

1. Does this mean that my clutch is on it's way out? The car was used in Jersey before it was imported to England, I know that they would have been changing gear an awful lot as the small winding roads. (are new clutches very expensive?)

2. It's not had a service since 22,000 do you think it's over due a service? I know about the spark plugs and how much of a pain they are, many garages I've asked said they wouldn't touch them OR be held responsible if they were to break... So if they were to break would this be expensive to sort out?

It should of had a service every year no matter what the mileage. The plugs could well be seized in. You could soak them in penetrating oil over night and then try removing them with a proper plug socket and half inch drive wrench very slowely to avoid stripping the threads.

It should of had a service every year no matter what the mileage. The plugs could well be seized in. You could soak them in penetrating oil over night and then try removing them with a proper plug socket and half inch drive wrench very slowely to avoid stripping the threads.

I'm booking her in for a service soon with Ford directly (who have done all of the previous services apart from one) Hopefully they'll be able to do it, and "Penetrating oil" Is it like WD40? Or is it a special product?